


The Future Is Yet Unshaped

by complexionperplexion



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bisexual, Comedy, Drama, F/F, F/M, Indian Character, M/M, Romance, Time Travel, diversity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-11 02:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18420843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/complexionperplexion/pseuds/complexionperplexion
Summary: Tasneem is from modern day England and has no idea why she's in Camelot, all she wants is to get back home. One problem, she has no idea how to travel a thousand years into the future. Hopefully Merlin will help her get back home eventually. Unfortunately for Tasneem her love of romanticism and her bisexual heart means she's falling in love left, right and centre. She ends up creating more trouble than she means to most of the time and is just trying to get through day by day without getting accused of some form of witchcraft."Excuse me, what are you doing in my bed?"My head turned quickly to find the source of the voice. A man stood in the doorway of the strange room. I took in his pale skin and dark hair, scanning his face for any hint of familiarity but I could find none. His clothes, much like the room I found myself in were...strange. They were like something from a medieval painting, reminding me vaguely of a Horrible Histories style set. However, given that I'd woken up in his bed a few moments ago with absolutely no knowledge as to how I got there I probably wasn't in the best position to judge his life choices."I'm not entirely sure..."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've written for Merlin. I've also posted this over on ff.net. I have no idea if this has been done before but I love time travel fics so I figured I'd write my own for one of my fave fandoms. I'm aware there isn't much bisexual representation and as someone who is bi I wanted to put a bit of myself out into the world. This is representative of my own experience of bisexuality (because I literally get a crush on everyone when I'm single it's insane). Hope you guys enjoy :)

"Excuse me, what are you doing in my bed?"

My head turned quickly to find the source of the voice. A man stood in the doorway of the strange room. I took in his pale skin and dark hair, scanning his face for any hint of familiarity but I could find none. His clothes, much like the room I found myself in were...strange. They were like something from a medieval painting, reminding me vaguely of a Horrible Histories style set. However, given that I'd woken up in his bed a few moments ago with absolutely no knowledge as to how I got there I probably wasn't in the best position to judge his life choices.

"I'm not entirely sure..." Despite being aware of how suspicious that sounded I had always been of the belief that honesty was the best policy.

"Well could you get out of it?" His request was by no means unreasonable, but I had found myself to be quite comfortable in his bed and so was somewhat reluctant to get out.

"Yes, sorry, I'll do that now." I brought myself to my feet. His quizzical look made me self-conscious, he seemed to be holding in a laugh. "What?" I noted my passive aggressive tone and tried to rein it in, I was intruding in his space, it wouldn't do to be rude.

"You look ridiculous." I looked down at myself and realised I was wearing my purple hoodie and neon yellow and pink striped pyjamas. I frowned slightly, I didn't remember going to bed in this, well not in the hoodie at least. "How did you get in here?"

I looked back at him, he seemed more amused than annoyed, but I remained wary nonetheless.

"Erm...I don't really know...Let me check my phone there's probably something on there maybe..." I trailed off as I reached into my pocket and was relieved to find my phone there. I quickly turned it on and unlocked it... How odd, I couldn't connect to the internet, and there wasn't any signal either. Suddenly my phone was snatched from me, I glared at the now irate man in front of me and reached to get it back, but he kept it out of my reach.

"You have to get rid of that. Magic is outlawed in Camelot, are you trying to get killed?"

"What? Magic?" I managed to grab my phone back and took a few steps away from him, partly to protect my phone but mostly because alarm bells had started ringing in my head, he seemed dangerous. "This is my phone you idio-Wait did you say Camelot?"

"Yes, Camelot." He seemed completely serious, although his claim was utterly ridiculous. I tried to keep calm, this man was potentially delusional. I'd learnt how to interact with delusional patients at university a few weeks ago, the most important thing was to remain calm and polite, they usually weren't dangerous unless in extreme situations.

"By Camelot do you mean King Arthur and his knights of the round table?" I was attempting to ask a few (hopefully) harmless questions as a way to assess whether I was in any danger.

"Well, there's a Prince Arthur, Uther is king. and there are knights, but I am not aware of any tables." He seemed stable and harmless enough. I would still rather be elsewhere though, preferably with someone who could explain what on earth was going on.

"And what about Merlin?" He seemed to stiffen at the name, I hoped I hadn't triggered anything. "The wizard? The one who helps Arthur." He started to walk towards me, there was hostility in his eyes and I felt the need to get away as soon as possible. I scanned the room for the closest exit.

"How do you know about him?" I noted the aggression in his voice and decided quickly that I needed to escape.

"Oh...Well...You see-" I pushed him backwards as hard as I could and ran past him to the door. I heard him yell after me and didn't look back to check if he was following me.

I ran as fast as I could, trying to figure out where I was. I seemed to be in some sort of stone building, a castle perhaps? And everyone seemed to be dressed as oddly as the man had. I didn't have time to process this information before I collided with someone whilst turning a corner. I yelped as I fell to the floor, scraping my arm on the wall in the process. It appeared to be bleeding quite badly and really fucking hurt. I looked around to see who I had collided with and watched in awe as a stunning woman got herself to her feet. Her hair cascaded behind her, her lips a deep red, her eyes sparkling. I tried to get myself to my feet but struggled, dizzy both from the fall and her beauty. She extended her hand towards me and I took hold of it, it helped stabilise me as I got up. But once I had stood up I couldn't bring myself to let go of her hand.

"Oh God I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going I just- I was being chased and I didn't mean-"

"Somebody is chasing you?" She seemed genuinely concerned.

"Yes, I'm scared he might hurt me if he finds me." She pulled me into a room close by, our hands still clasped. My heart was racing, and I wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline from being chased or being so close to her.

"These are my private chambers, you will be safe here. Are you alright? Your arm seems to be injured quite badly."

"Yes, that was from the fall. I'm so sorry again-"

"It is quite alright, it was obviously an accident." She smiled reassuringly at me and I returned it. This felt significantly safer than when I was with that man. "What is your name?"

I paused momentarily. I weighed up whether I should be truthful, she was a stranger and I did not know whether her intentions were good. However, she had gone out of her way to help me, and she seemed to be kind...and insanely pretty. "Tasneem, and yours?"

"Morgana." Even her name was pretty. "What happened to you Tasneem?"

I tried to think of a way to explain that wouldn't make me seem insane, it was definitely an odd situation. "I'm not too sure... I remember going to bed in my own bed but... Well I woke up in the bed of this man, I have no idea who he is or how I got there. It's like this whole chunk of my memory is just missing, which seems impossible I know but it's true, I swear. And I think the man was delusional, he said I was in Camelot, which just isn't possible, and I managed to get away and he was the one who's chasing me."

"Tasneem... You are in Camelot." She looked as serious as the man had. Something clicked in my head as everything fell into place. She was telling the truth. It explained why my phone didn't work, why everyone was dressed so oddly and spoke so formally, and why I was in a medieval castle. I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

"It doesn't make sense, I'm not from here." A tightness started to form in my chest and I choked back tears, this didn't seem real. I thought maybe it was a dream, or perhaps some ridiculous new reality show and any second now someone would jump out and say I was part of some stupid TV prank. But that never happened. Morgana frowned slightly, noting my obvious panic. She squeezed my hand gently in an attempt to reassure me, but it did little to settle me nerves.

"Come, let us get you to Gaius, he is the royal physician. He will be able to help with your arm, and maybe help you make some sense of what has happened." As she walked towards a dresser I tried to stop myself from shaking and prayed that I didn't throw up. "Here, let me put this on you, I don't want you to hurt your arm more." I nodded meekly, she wrapped the cloak around my shoulders and tied it in the front, "Now the man who was chasing you should not recognise you" she said gently as she pulled the hood up to shield my face.

"Thank you." I whispered

She took my hand again and led me through the castle. I appreciated her remaining silent as we walked and allowing me to have time to process what was happening. As we walked my eyes searched for anything that would indicate that this wasn't real, but everything seemed legit. I just wanted to go home. What if I never saw my family again? Or my friends? I had an entire life that I might never go back to. I felt sick. My breathing began to quicken and I struggled to keep the tears from falling as my lip quivered. It was all too much. It didn't make sense. Why was this happening? Morgana squeezed my hand and the small smile she gave me allowed some calm to the storm in my mind. She knocked assertively on the door in front of us. I was incredibly grateful that she had taken the time to help me.

"My lady," an elderly man had opened the door, "what brings you here?"

"My friend has been injured, I was hoping you could treat her." Gaius motioned for us to enter the room and Morgana told me to sit on a nearby bench. Gaius had spotted my bloodied arm and had gone to his workbench to fetch some bandages and a few bottles containing various concoctions. "She has also had some memory loss, do you think it is possible she has had a head injury?"

"Perhaps." mused Gaius as he went to the opposite side of the room to find some other objects. "I would have to do a more thorough examination to determine that."

"I am afraid I have to leave now Tasneem, I have a meeting with the King I am terribly late for. However, I will come here immediately after. You will be safe with Gaius." her smile seemed apologetic but it reassured me greatly to know that she was looking out for me.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me Morgana. Thank you." I smiled back at her and waved her goodbye as she left. "Thank you too Gaius, I imagine you must be very busy." he smiled at me kindly.

"It is no problem, this is my job after all." He came next to me and started applying bandages that had been soaked in something, I presume some form of antibacterial, that smelled strongly of herbs. It stung slightly and so I winced whenever he put some on a new bit of flesh. "Morgana mentioned some memory loss, can you tell me more about that?"

Just as I was about to begin my story the door was abruptly slammed open. "Gaius we have a problem..." The man who had been chasing me trailed off as his eyes landed on me. It seems I was the problem he had been searching for. Although I no longer believed him to be delusional he still made me extremely wary. But it seemed he knew Gaius, so I should at least attempt to make amends for running from him.

"I'm sorry for pushing you, I thought you were delusional. I didn't realise I was actually in Camelot. Did I hurt you?" He seemed startled and just stared at me.

"Merlin, will you stop standing there like a statue and go get me some more bandages?" Gaius scoffed at him. My eyes widened at the realisation. It seemed impossible and yet... Well I'd somehow ended up in Camelot, nothing was really impossible. I knew Merlin as an old man who, from my memory of Shrek at least, was kooky as fuck.

"You're Merlin? As in THE Merlin? But you said magic was like illegal or something so how are you Merlin? Not that that means you're not Merlin but like it's a weird name it's not like there's gonna be loads of you... Although maybe it is a common name it's not like I'm from around here I wouldn't know. But if you are Merlin then how do you do your magic stuff?" Gaius looked at me in shock, completely unaware of what had happened between us.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He was obviously lying, his body had stiffened when I had first mentioned Merlin, and now he was acting all tense. Not to mention Gaius' reaction.

"I think you do. Come on I know already, plus you're like famous." He turned to look at me frowning.

"Famous?" I realised how insane it would sound if I told Gaius where I was actually from, especially with him being the physician, maybe he'd think I was a witch or something and kill me like Merlin had said earlier.

"Nope. I misspoke. I wasn't thinking of Merlin, I was thinking of Marlin, you know like the fish. Complete mix up sorry. Must be that head injury Morgana was talking about Gaius. Yeah I'm just a bit confused sorry about that." Merlin frowned at me and I tried to ignore it. I fixed my eyes to a spot on the ground and attempted to hide my embarrassment. He handed Gaius the extra bandages and the room remained silent as Gaius continued with the bandages. Merlin's frowning also continued.

"Gaius knows about my magic."

"Merlin!" Gaius chastised.

"Oh thank God. Ok this sounds crazy but I'm from the future like in a thousand years, and I have no idea how I got here or how I can get back. Like I woke up in your bed and like all of a sudden I was here. And magic isn't even real in the future, well maybe it is but it's definitely like underground if it is. But you're like famous like I learnt about you in primary school. I mean I don't remember much about what you do because it's been like twenty years or something but I know you're important but also you're just like a myth like none of this is supposed to be real. This is just so weird I have no idea what's happening and I just want to go home."

Merlin and Gaius both looked at me in shock. I prayed I hadn't made a mistake in telling them everything. Merlin began to smile and I felt myself relax.

"Look at that Gaius, I'm famous. No more bossing me about." Gaius scoffed at him. "Does everyone dress this strangely in the future?"

I chuckled at that. "No, this is what I wear to sleep, I didn't think anyone would see me. "I was incredibly relieved that he believed me, although Gaius still seemed somewhat sceptical. 

"We should probably get you some new clothes. Merlin will you go to Gwen and sort something out?"

"And what exactly am I meant to tell Gwen? It might look a bit odd if I just ask for some dresses Gaius."

"Say she's a friend from home and you're gifting her them." Merlin frowned at that. But he nodded and walked out. I smiled to myself, glad I had somewhere to be myself. Merlin's head popped back through the door.

"What's your name? You never told me."

"You never asked." He scowled jokingly at me and I laughed, feeling lighter than I had all day. "Tasneem." He nodded and left again.


	2. Chapter 2

"I know you're not sure that I'm from the future." I looked over to Gaius as soon as Merlin had left. If he knew about Merlin's magic and kept it secret I doubted he'd report me for being a witch, but I wanted to be sure I was on his good side.

He frowned slightly as he finished my bandages. "It seems a bit...far fetched. It makes sense, you look and talk very differently to anyone I have ever met. And Merlin seems to be certain you are telling the truth."

"But you're unsure?" I looked at him intently, searching for a sign that he could be a danger to me.

"Yes, I have no reason to believe that you are telling the truth." His honesty lessened my suspicions so I reached into my pocket for my phone in order to prove I was being truthful. But it wasn't there. Oh God. I felt my heart stop. I must have dropped it as I was running from Merlin. I quickly stood up and rushed for the door. "Where are you going?" Gaius shouted after me.

I turned to face him, my panic evident. "I lost my phone." He looked at me strangely, of course he wouldn't know what a phone was, I was being an idiot. "It's a device from the future. We use it to communicate to each other. I need it. If anyone else finds it they might think it's magic, Merlin certainly did." He looked even more confused at the mention of Merlin and it was then that I realised he still had no idea Merlin and I had met earlier. "He saw me with it before, I was the problem he was referring to when he came in."

"Oh." Gaius still looked rather unsure, "Well you cannot go out dressed like that, Merlin has some clothes in his room back there that should fit you." I nodded my thanks and hurriedly went to change.

 

 

I couldn't seem to find my phone anywhere. The fact that I didn't know my way around the castle wasn't much help either. I sighed in frustration as I searched yet another corridor. This was ridiculous, they had no way of knowing it was even mine, I probably wouldn't get in trouble for it. But also I'd never travelled in time before and I didn't want to be the girl that completely fucked up history by allowing future technology to get into the wrong hands. I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye and breathed a sigh of relief, I could see my phone at the end of the corridor and ran towards it. But just before I got there someone else reached to pick it up. I swore under my breath and tried to figure out a way to get my phone back from them before they realised what it was.

"That's mine." I said in a loud voice, hoping that that if I was assertive they'd just hand it right over. I took a moment to look at who it was that had taken my phone. He was dressed in what I presumed was chain mail, he had shaggy blonde hair and striking blue eyes. I tried to remain in control and ignore the fact that he was incredibly attractive.

"Finders keepers." His cocky tone irked me and immediately I found myself significantly less attracted to him. He started to walk away but I grabbed his arm to stop him.

"I want it back." I gave him my sternest look in the hopes that he would give in. Unfortunately, I was not that lucky,

"It is no longer yours." I huffed in annoyance and he raised his eyebrow as if amused, a response that only annoyed me further.

"You can't just take something that doesn't belong to you." He chuckled as my annoyance increased. I needed my phone back as soon as possible. He pulled his arm out of my grasp.

"Neither can you, so unless you have something you can give me in return..." I glared at him, I literally had nothing I could give him. There was only one thing I could think of, but I definitely didn't want to embarrass myself like that. It appeared I had no choice. I internally swore as I came to terms with the fact I was going to have to attempt to seduce this stranger, something I was in no way good at. I put on my best smile, raising my hand to place it gently on his arm.

"Well, there is one thing I could give you..." I ran my hand up his arm, moving to his cheek. I paused for a moment, trying to make it clear what I was suggesting and allowing him some time to say no. He seemed taken aback but did nothing to stop me. I leaned in to kiss him, his eyes closed as he moved his face closer to mine. I took the opportunity and grabbed my phone from his hand, running as fast as I could in the other direction. I really wasn't looking forward to another chase. I weaved between the various people in the castle who were performing their every day tasks. Suddenly I felt myself being pulled into a room and someone slapped their hand over my mouth. I struggled against the stranger, but their arm was wrapped firmly around me so I couldn't escape.

"It's me, calm down already." I pulled away aggressively and turned around to see Merlin. "Who were you running from this time? And why are you wearing my clothes?" I flopped down on a nearby chair as he was talking. I was exhausted from running so much, and the stress of the day seemed to be catching up with me.

"Gaius wouldn't let me out in my own clothes. Also you could do with washing these, why do all of your clothes stink?" He pulled a face at me and I stifled a laugh.

"Don't worry you have your own dresses now." He pointed at some dresses he'd chucked on the floor. I groaned in frustration, I hated wearing dresses. "Why did you need to go out anyway?"

I held up my phone "I lost this." I observed the confusion on his face and motioned for him to come over. "It's not magic like you thought it was. It's a phone, we use them to communicate with each other in the future. Look here are some messages between my best friend and I," I struggled not to cry as I looked through them, terrified at the prospect of never seeing him again, "it's like sending a letter but it only takes a few seconds as opposed to days." I looked over, at Merlin seeing the wonder in his face cheered me up. It felt like this was the first time I was properly seeing him, the previous times we'd interacted I had been fearful for my life. He was actually kind of cute when he smiled like that. I quickly told myself off. Why did I have to find everyone here attractive? I blamed it on having just got out of a relationship, I was now seeing opportunity everywhere, which was becoming increasingly frustrating. I looked back at the messages, wishing I could talk to Rupert (my best friend) about everything. He'd be sure to laugh at my ridiculous notions.

"This is incredible, and you just have to touch it?" Merlin's voice startled me, I had been entirely lost in thought. I nodded in answer to his question and handed him the phone. He'd helped me a lot, I figured the least I could do is let him have a go. I laughed as he used the phone like my grandparents did, using his forefinger and pressing the screen with force. He clicked on some of my music, accidentally making it play. His face lit up as sounds started coming out of my phone. "What is this?"

I chuckled as I reached over to take my phone back and stop the music. "Phones aren't just for messaging people. They store music, and photos, and games, all sorts of things really." I smiled at his shocked expression., it was clear he didn't really understand what I was talking about. I'd never really taken a moment to marvel at how far technology had come, seeing Merlin's reaction put a lot of things into perspective. "We should probably get back to Gaius." He nodded, seeming a tad upset that he couldn't spend longer on my phone. I recognised that I'd have to save my battery, and I still had to show Gaius so he'd believe me.

"You might want to change into a dress now, it will look less strange." I nodded, and looked around. The room was small, there was nowhere private that I could get dressed.

"Would you mind turning around?" Merlin blushed as he realised the situation and immediately faced the wall. I started to undress, trying not to think about how awkward this felt.

"You... Erm... You never said who was chasing you." He said as I started to put on the dress. It was a pale pink, and as much as I despised dresses I had to admit it was rather pretty.

"I don't know his name. He seemed like a dick, I had to steal my phone off him. He had like blonde hair, I think he was wearing chain mail."

"What?" Merlin turned around suddenly before I'd finished putting on my dress. I shrieked in surprise and he blushed deeply and quickly faced the wall again, stuttering out some form of apology.

"What the fuck Merlin?"

"I'm so sorry, I thought you were talking about Arthur-"

My face dropped. "As in Prince Arthur?"

"Yes."

"Oh shit. Merlin can you get executed for leading on a Prince? You can turn around now by the way, I need your help tying up my dress at the back." He turned around and got to work on tightening my dress.

"Leading him on?" I blushed, glad my back was to him so he couldn't see how embarrassed I was.

"I may have attempted to kiss him- but it was just to distract him so I could get my phone. I didn't realise he was anyone important. Oh God am I going to get in trouble?" Merlin burst out in laughter. I turned to look at him sternly, not impressed by how amused he was by my panic. "Hey, don't laugh at me!"

"No, no, it's not you," he said between laughs, "it's just I'm thinking of Arthur kissing you, it seems ridiculous." I frowned at him and he noticed my discomfort. He forced himself to stop laughing and attempted to look serious. "Not that him wanting to kiss you is ridiculous. You're very kissable. I mean not to me, I'm not saying I want to kiss you. That doesn't mean you're not pretty, you're very...erm...pleasant looking?"

This time it was my turn to laugh, seeing him stumble over his words was hilarious. "Merlin, it's ok. I know what you mean. Come on, we better get back, Gaius will be wondering where we are."


	3. Chapter 3

Merlin had insisted that I take his bed, which I was not at all comfortable with. He was sleeping on the floor near Gaius, I couldn't imagine it being particularly comfortable. I tried to distract myself from the guilt by processing the day's events. It still didn't feel real, I doubted it ever would. When Merlin and I had returned I showed Gaius my phone and he had believed me in an instant, he seemed much more concerned with the mechanics of it than Merlin was but that was unsurprising. From what little I knew of them I got the impression that Gaius was very wise and Merlin...well he was definitely less so. They had bombarded me with questions about the future and how I had got here, but quickly sensed my pain so stopped. Although Merlin still asked the odd question as we ate dinner, mainly about magic. He refused to believe that magic didn't exist, convinced that magic users had gone into hiding. He seemed genuinely distraught at the idea, but then I supposed that if someone told me that in a thousand years Muslims didn't exist I would probably be pretty heartbroken too. Gaius and I had bonded over our shared love of medicine, I told him that I studied it at university and we had an in depth discussion about medical advancements and the similarities to his current practices. Whereas at university I hated pharmacology, hearing him speak about the way he made his various medications was thrilling to me. We swiftly reached the agreement that I would be his apprentice (I would certainly do a better job than Merlin). It meant that I would be allowed my own room as well, which Gaius promised he would speak to Uther about tomorrow. Merlin was forced to change my bandages as Gaius and I sorted out the logistics, his immense boredom was extremely amusing to me. Morgana had come to see me in the evening and was pleasantly surprised to discover my plans for staying in Camelot. We sat and talked for a while. She probed me further on what had happened that led to me being chased, why I had been dressed so oddly, and what it was like back home. Lying to her pained me, but I recognised it was necessary. I hoped the day would come where I could tell her the truth, I felt such a strong connection with her and she struck me as incredibly kind. Eventually we had to say goodnight to each other though, and so now I was attempting to sleep in the room where it all started.

I tried to ignore the tears that had started to roll down my cheeks. I missed home incredibly, I just wanted to curl up in my own bed with a cup of tea and chat to Rupert. He was my rock, the only person who I felt solid with. He was the first person I came out to, the person I trusted with my entire heart and soul. I would tell him everything, and I missed his sarcastic commentary on my life. He'd have a field day with this. He would definitely mock me endlessly for wearing that ridiculous dress. And for finding literally every human gorgeous. I'd broken up with my girlfriend a few weeks ago. It was very much mutual and could not have been more pleasant, but I was still mourning the connection we had, even though it leaned more towards platonic than romantic. Rupert often said I fell in love differently than everyone else. I would fall so completely and so easily, without even the slightest hesitation. It would blind me entirely, I became utterly oblivious to the reality of the situation. He made me realise it was the result of an absent family, I now clung to any hint of affection. I would love to have him here, he could give me a serious telling off and let me know that the reason I found everyone so gorgeous was because I was terrified of being alone. Which I now was. As lovely as Merlin, Gaius and Morgana had been, they were strangers to me. I appreciated everything they had done, but it didn't stop the ache of despair. I felt completely hollow, as if my essence had been scooped out of me. I choked back sobs and tried to force myself to rest. Eventually I exhausted myself from crying and drifted off into a painful sleep.

 

Merlin woke me the next morning by shaking me violently. I threw my pillow at him but in my sleep-deprived state my aim was completely off causing him to laugh mercilessly at me. I groaned in annoyance and buried my head under the covers,

"Go away and let me sleep, you're such a dick." He threw the pillow back at me, hitting me on the head. I huffed in annoyance as I got up. "Will you fuck off now?"

"Now that's not a very nice way to treat the guy who gave you his bed..." he trailed off as he realised I was only wearing my hoodie which, unluckily for me, barely covered anything. He blushed as I glared at him to get out. "Alright I am going to fuck off now, but Gaius wants you to know he needs you to be ready to see King Uther in ten minutes."

"What?" I screeched. "There is no way I'm gonna be ready in ten minutes!" But Merlin had already ran out of the room. I quickly tried to make myself presentable. I threw a dress on, and tried to brush my hair with my fingers. I didn't have a mirror but I felt like I looked ridiculous. I stormed out of my room ready to murder Merlin for waking me up so late. He laughed as I entered the room.

"What is going on with your hair?" I pulled a face and stuffed some bread in my mouth, very aware of how little time I had before seeing the King.

"Shut up. I didn't have time to do anything to it." He smiled widely at me and my annoyance grew. This was entirely his fault, I didn't even have time to shower.

"Sit down, I'll fix it for you." I looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"And what exactly would you know about doing hair, Merlin?" He placed his hands on my shoulders and semi-forced me to sit down. He muttered something and I felt my hair move of it's own accord. I screamed, immediately standing up and reaching my hands to my head as a way to figure out what had happened. My hair felt...soft, and like it had been braided. "What did you do?"

"It's just a spell, I used to help my mother with her hair." I was in awe. This was the first time I had seen magic, it was incredible. I felt so overwhelmed, both at the fact that something as crazy as magic existed and that Merlin had been kind enough to use his to help me.

"Thank you, it's amazing." He smiled brightly at me and I enthusiastically returned it. There was more that I wanted to say but couldn't verbalise. That he was so incredibly talented, and that the crime was not his magic but the fact that it could not be celebrated. I could not imagine how difficult it must be to work for the Prince and have to keep such a large part of his identity a secret. I could relate somewhat as being closeted for most of my life had also been draining, but luckily I had never faced death for my sexuality, although I recognised that this was a reality many people lived. I was still unsure as to whether or not homosexuality was a crime in Camelot, but I was hesitant to find out.

"Ready to go?" Gaius' voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I nodded and followed him to the throne room, still disappointed that I hadn't said more to Merlin. Gaius paused outside the door, he appeared concerned.

"I shall do most of the talking, Uther should accept what I propose...but in case he does not know that you are always welcome to come by. I do enjoy your company." I smiled widely at him and pulled him into a hug, despite having known him for only a day we had bonded so much. He felt more like a father than my own.

"Thank you Gaius, I really appreciate that." We shared a smile before he pushed the doors open and we walked in. I tried to exude as much confidence as possible, praying that Uther would agree to let me stay. Staying with Merlin and Gaius was the only place I felt safe. Morgana was the first person I saw when I walked in, and she gave a small nod as a means of recognition. I cursed the butterflies that fluttered about in my stomach and berated myself for allowing such a large crush to have developed so quickly. I was once again struck with how beautiful she was but became conscious of the fact I was now staring at her. I let my eyes roam the room and saw Uther sat on the throne and next to him...I quickly looked away and avoided his eyes. It seemed it was in fact Prince Arthur who I bumped into yesterday, I forced my eyes to the floor. At this particular moment I wouldn't have minded if the world had decided to swallow me up. I noticed Gaius had bowed so I clumsily curtsied as well.

"Your Highness, this is Tasneem, I wish to make her my new apprentice. She has great interest in healing and I believe she will be an excellent replacement for me when the time comes." The kind compliment made it impossible to hide my grin, I moved my expectant gaze to Uther.

"You have good judgement Gaius, I will approve this." My smile grew wider looked over to Morgana whose expression seemed to match mine.

"May I request that she have her own room? I'm sure that you understand that she cannot share my chambers Your Highness." Uther nodded, seeming to be in thought.

"There is a room near me." My eyes were drawn to Morgana as she spoke, trying to settle down my nerves at the thought of living close to her, "it should be appropriate."

"Yes, that will do. Does that settle everything Gaius?" His professional nod cemented my fate. The relief of knowing I would be safe made it almost impossible to hide my excitement as we left. As much as I would prefer being home the novelty of the situation greatly enthused me. The moment the doors closed behind us I screamed and hugged Gaius. He seemed shocked by my actions as he tentatively returned the hug.

"Thank you Gaius, it means a lot that you did that for me. I know I have not been here long but I'm really glad I've met you. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't taken me under your wing." His small smile was enough for me to know that he appreciated what I had said. I was shown into my new room and moved what few possessions I had (basically just the dresses and some other bits and bobs Gaius had given me for day to day life) into it. I was resting in my bed when I heard a knock on the door. Thinking it may be Morgana I rushed to answer it. If only I could have been so lucky.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me." I blushed as Prince Arthur looked down on me. I fought the urge to close the door and pretend I'd never seen him. I straightened my shoulders as a means of pseudo-confidence and proceeded to try and pretend that I wasn't an embarrassed disaster.

"It was never yours, you just borrowed it momentarily." His smirk gave me a mini meltdown and I tried to remain cool.

"I was not referring to that." My cheeks turned tomato red as I realised he meant the kiss. I avoided his eyes, conscious of the fact that I may end up lost in them.

"Well considering it wasn't yours to trade with I reckon the trade off doesn't count." His scoff caused me to meet his eyes and I immediately regretted it. Flecks of green disrupted the bright blue. There was a playfulness to his expression, but also a depth that I wanted to explore. Damn it. "I'm sorry I have to go someone's calling me."

"Wha-" I slammed the door and locked it, rushing to the other side of the room in a useless attempt to distance myself from the situation. He knocked on the door again, this time I definitely didn't answer. "I know you are the only one in there." I remained quiet hoping that he'd think I somehow just disappeared. He knocked a few more times but eventually I heard him leave. I breathed a sigh of relief and flopped down onto my bed. I hoped that was the last time I ever saw him, although considering I was going to be stuck in this castle for the foreseeable future that seemed unlikely. I decided it would be best to distract myself by helping Gaius so left to see if I could assist in any way.

Gaius didn't seem to be around when I arrived, but Merlin was there polishing what I presumed were Arthur's boots. I flopped down next to him. "So I bumped into Arthur." The amusement on his face gladdened me. "Turns out you were right, it was him I almost kissed. He seems to be under the impression I still owe him one." Merlin snorted at that, I was happy to be joking about this with him.

"Yes well he is a prat so that does not surprise me." We laughed together, it felt nice to not have my head so caught up with missing home. I noticed I felt a bit lighter when I was around him.

"I wanted to say a proper thank you for before," he looked over at me quizzically, "don't get me wrong you're still a dick for waking me up late." I rolled my eyes at his cheeky grin. "But it was kind of you to help me with my hair. I can't imagine what you go through, and allowing me the privilege of seeing that side of you means a lot." Merlin appeared to have frozen in front of me. I bit my lip anxiously, scared I had said something wrong. I knew very little about magic and was nervous I may have have accidentally insulted him.

"No one has described it as a privilege before," the softness of his voice broke my heart. In that moment I could see his daily internal struggle. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently.

"It most definitely is a privilege. I admit I don't know much about what you can do, but from the myths I know you're incredibly talented. No pressure, of course. But it genuinely amazes me that you have such a unique skill. It's wonderful, really. And I hope one day you'll be free to show Arthur, and the world, how amazing you really are." His eyes were unreadable, but he seemed mildly distressed. I hoped that I hadn't crossed a line by being so open when we were practically strangers. I had a tendency to be too intense, and if I had ruined our relationship by forgetting the boundaries I would really regret it.

"Thank you." I could barely hear it as his voice was so low. I pulled him into a hug, which was awkward seeing as we were sat next to each other, but I felt it necessary. We held on to each other tightly for a moment before being interrupted.

"Merlin?" We jumped apart at Arthur's voice. I couldn't read his face as his eyes found us. I was sure he had seen us hugging and averted my eyes to the floor. I was not usually this timid, but I was terrified that if I got on his bad side I'd be in trouble. And I had no idea how to appropriately act in front of a royal.

"I'm coming." Merlin quickly got up, shooting me a smile before he left. I felt Arthur's gaze on me the entire time but kept my eyes stuck to Merlin, waving him goodbye as he left. I was glad when they both left and started reading a book on the different medicinal uses for flowers as I waited for Gaius.


End file.
